Debt Advice Centre

Debt Indigestion Remedies

You are living on the edge, financially, but you are not alone. You may not have a late payment or default on your credit report yet, which is good, as we see late payments on most credit reports, and defaults on around 30%, so it's important to try to use your credit standing to move you to a better position.

Reduce Your Outgoings

• Move to cheaper lenders - on average, people who spring clean their finances using our free Find a Lender service to find the cheapest cards matched to their current credit standing save £400 per year. Go for 0% introductory deals to save even more and always remember to close your expensive card accounts to avoid the temptation of using them in future.
• Using your budget plan, add up all your credit cards and think about taking out a loan to consolidate them. Average credit card rates are 17% and average loan rates just over half that level, so significant savings are possible.
• Before you apply, check your credit report to make sure that it is error free so you have the best chance of success.
• If your card debt is over £10,000, apply for two loans of half the amount you need - each lender will think you are shopping for credit and you'll have a better chance of success applying for smaller loans. Use our free Find a Lender service to find the cheapest loans matched to your credit standing.
• Try to keep your loan term as short as you can. Repayment over 3 or 4 years is best if you can manage it. Don't be tempted to extend the term beyond 4 years just to save a few tens of pounds in the monthly repayment, the increase in the total cost of credit will be disproportionate.
• If you have a mortgage and have some equity in your property, think about remortgaging and consolidating your card and loan debt to a new mortgage. A new mortgage company will probably give you the best deal. Try to locate a specialist Independent Financial Advisor who has a lot of experience, and who works with debt-stressed people.

Improve Your Awareness

• Draw up a simple monthly budget and try to stick to it - logging all of your Credit Balances, Monthly Payments and the APR you are being charged on your borrowing.
• Simplify this process by monitoring your Credit Report and track changes in your balances with our Credit Report Monitoring services FREE for 30 days and then just £8.99 per month. You can cancel at any time.

Don't Miss Our Less Extreme Suggestions

• Browse the suggestions for those with Short Term Problems to see if there are any suggestions that might help you free up some money, make savings, or increase your income.

Can't get a loan or remortgage? Try our suggestions on Moving Forward With Debt